Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, is a retired German liberal theologian who has played a significant role in the Church’s ecumenical efforts and theological discourse.

Born on March 5, 1933, in Heidenheim an der Brenz, Germany, Kasper was ordained priest in 1957. He pursued his academic career, earning a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the University of Tübingen and later becoming a faculty member there.

Throughout his career, Kasper has held several notable positions within the Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart from 1989 to 1999. In 2001, Pope John Paul II elevated him to the rank of cardinal and appointed him as the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, a position he held until 2010.

Kasper’s achievements are numerous and significant. He is renowned for his work in Christian ecumenical relations, having served on the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission and as co-chairman of the Lutheran-Catholic Commission of Unity. He has also been at the forefront of efforts to promote dialogue between Catholics and Jews, earning him the “Memorial Mural Award” from the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation in 2004.

An accomplished progressive theologian, Kasper has authored many books and articles, contributing to Catholic theological discourse. He has been particularly influential in shaping the Church’s approach to pastoral issues, often at times igniting significant controversy due to his liberal ideas. His view of ecumenism, for example, is decidedly post-conciliar and marks a break with traditional Church teaching.¹“Today we no longer understand ecumenism in the sense of a return, by which the others would ‘be converted’ and return to being ‘catholics.’ This was expressly abandoned by Vatican II,” Cardinal Kasper has said.

One of the most notable events in Kasper’s career has been his close association with Pope Francis. Often referred to as “the Pope’s theologian,” Kasper has been instrumental in articulating and defending Francis’s theological vision. He played a crucial role in debates surrounding pastoral practices, particularly in relation to family issues and the reception of communion by divorced and remarried Catholics during the 2014 and 2015 Synods on the Family. His proposal for change in this area was met with considerable opposition from more orthodox elements within the Church.

In 2014, Cardinal Kasper caused a furore when he was recorded as saying that when it came to stances on such issues as homosexuality, he believed people in Africa “should not tell us too much what we [in the West] have to do” as for them these issues remain a taboo. He later issued an apology, stating, “If one of my remarks about Africans was perceived as demeaning or insulting, then I am honestly sorry.”

More recently, Kasper has been critical of the German Synodal Way, warning that its plans for a “synodal council” where bishops and lay Catholics share decision-making power could violate the Church’s sacramental structure.

Kasper was one of several progressive Church leaders who met annually from 1995 to 2006 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, to discuss Church reform and work to prevent Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger being elected pope in 2005.